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#Author, Pat Garcia’s #Newsletter -@pat_garcia #RRBC #RWISA
Category: Uncategorized
Welcome to Day 2 of THE HAUNTED SHORES MYSTERIES BLOG TOUR FEATURING “SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER” @OverbeckRandy @4WillsPub @4WP11
GIVEAWAY: $25 Amazon Gift Card & 1 e-book or paperback copy of one book in the Haunted Shores series (Winner’s choice). Simply leave a comment below for your chance to win!
WORDS STILL MATTER
Words still matter. Perhaps, now more than ever.
What we say and what we write carries weight, makes a difference. A few words from a president can set off alarm bells. A phrase from the fed chairman can make the stock market soar or ignite a selling spree. And it’s not just the words of major players. Dangerous misinformation shared on social media platforms actually cost lives.
Our words can wound or heal, can obscure or reveal. We’ve learned long ago the saying, sticks and stones can break out bones, but words can never hurt us, is clearly not true.
Words matter, still.
So when I set off to write my novels, I pay special attention to my words…and what I choose to write about. I’m not naïve. I realize readers pick up my Haunted Shores Mysteries looking for puzzling whodunits or perhaps hoping to get away to one of my incredible locations or even to experience a little “who-hoo.”
But my novels are about more than cold case murders, a ghost or two, a thread of romance or even breathtakingly beautiful resorts. I’m also careful to structure my narrative to tell a larger truth. A truth about us, about our society, about how we treat each other. In the first two entries, my plots entwined with the issues of racial injustice (BLOOD ON THE CHESAPEAKE) and human trafficking (CRIMSON AT CAPE MAY).
In the third installment, SCARLET AT CRYSTAL RIVER, I have my sights set on an equally compelling social issue, one not very well understood by most Americans. As Darrell tries to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of two young Latino children, he is thrust in the middle of our “immigrant problem,” as they might say on the news. As I completed my research for this novel, which takes place more than twenty years earlier, I was amazed how little has changed on this issue. As a nation we’re still struggling today much the same way we were in 2000 with how we deal with “the hungry, the poor, yearning to be free” as is inscribed on the Statue of Liberty.
My words are not intended to persuade anyone. Rather, like my efforts in CRIMSON about human trafficking, I’m hoping my writing may cause readers to pause and want to learn more, this time about the plight of migrant workers—and not simply accept the soundbites about the issues on TV or social media.
I hope my words matter.
“One thing that is particularly special about Overbeck’s books is that they unabashedly tackle social issues within their plots. Already having discussed racism and human trafficking in his first two books, “Scarlet at Crystal River” once again forces readers to confront a particularly pervasive and dangerous social issue. This book, in particular, touches upon the dangers of racism and xenophobia, as well as emphasize the often-ignored plights of the hundreds of thousands of migrant workers who are the reason we are able to have such a variety of fruits, vegetables and other resources in our daily lives.”—ReaderViews
Bio
Dr. Randy Overbeck is an award-winning educator, author and speaker. As an educator, he served children for four decades in a range of roles captured in his novels, from teacher and coach to principal and superintendent. His thriller, Leave No Child Behind (2012) and his recent mysteries, the Amazon No. 1 Best Seller, Blood on the Chesapeake, Crimson at Cape May and Scarlet at Crystal River have earned five star reviews and garnered national awards including “Thriller of the Year–ReadersFavorite.com, “Gold Award”—Literary Titan, “Mystery of the Year”—ReadersView.com and “Crowned Heart of Excellence”—InD’Tale Magazine. As a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Dr. Overbeck is an active member of the literary community, contributing to a writers’ critique group, serving as a mentor to emerging writers and participating in writing conferences such as Sleuthfest, Killer Nashville and the Midwest Writers Workshop. When he’s not writing or researching his next exciting novel or sharing his presentation, “Things Still Go Bump in the Night,” he’s spending time with his incredible family of wife, three children (and their spouses) and seven wonderful grandchildren.
Social Media Handles
https://twitter.com/OverbeckRandy/media
https://www.facebook.com/authorrandyoverbeck
https://www.instagram.com/authorrandyoverbeck/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-KOC0LH2GQRSAjwxOFr5rg
Tik Tok @authorrandyo
Specs
- Release by Wild Rose Press—September 13, 2021
- Paranormal mystery
- 364 pp.
- Mild
Blurb
All Darrell Henshaw wanted was to enjoy his honeymoon with his beautiful wife, Erin, in the charming town of Crystal River on the sunny Gulf Coast of Florida. Only a pair of ghosts decide to intrude on their celebration. And not just any ghosts, the spirits of two young Latino children. Unwilling at first to derail the honeymoon for yet another ghost hunt, Darrell finally concedes when a painting of the kids comes alive, weeping and pleading for his help.
When he and Erin track down the artist, they discover the children’s family were migrant workers the next county over. But when they travel there, their questions about the kids gets their car shot up and Erin hospitalized. Torn between fear and rage, Darrell must decide how far he will go to get justice for two young children he never even knew.
Tagline
Darrell and Erin thought they were heading to Florida for a carefree honeymoon, but the ghosts of two immigrants children haunt them, pleading for help.
Trailer
Review Blurbs
“Scarlet at Crystal River is an eerie paranormal mystery I couldn’t stop reading. Randy Overbeck is a masterful writer of the paranormal, drawing the reader in before instilling shivers down the spine. 5+ stars.” –N. N. Light’s Book Heaven
“A rollercoaster of a mystery, hurtling up and down hills and sharp corners until the very end, when the reader is left slightly breathless, waiting for their hearts to beat back to a normal rhythm. ★★★★★—ReadersView
“Scarlet at Crystal River is a suspenseful paranormal novel with compelling characters and an enigmatic mystery that drives the story to a riveting conclusion. Overbeck is a master at building tension–-this is easily a one-sitting read.” ★★★★★—Literary Titan
“This is another masterpiece from Randy Overbeck. His excellent writing style has left me speechless for one more time. He writes in a way that makes you feel what the characters feel and you have no choice but to partake in the journey with them.” ★★★★★—Ioanna’s Reviews, Greece
Welcome to Day 6 of #AGhostAndHisGold Blog Tour!
@RobertaEaton17 @4WillsPub @4WP11 @RRBC_Org
A Ghost and His Gold By Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Themes of A Ghost and His Gold
My main intention with A Gost and His Gold was to describe the events and circumstances of the Second Anglo Boer War which resulted in the anger and resentment that remained among the different cultures and populations after the war and set the stage for the future of South Africa.
Gold, and people’s desire for wealth, is a repeated theme of this book and is included in the title, together with ghost as this book is historical but has a strong supernatural thread.
I had the general themes for A Ghost and His Gold in place prior to starting the writing of this book and I expanded them as it progressed. The main themes are as follows:
- The impact of greed and corruption on countries and people;
- Bad decision making and their effect on soldiers and civilians;
- Evil perpetuating the development of hatred and evil;
- The effect of war on the political and social development of a country;
- The individual mindset versus the group mentality including pro-war propaganda;
- Death; and
- The reality of war
This is an extract from one of the war scenes during the siege of Mafeking which illustrates some of these themes:
“The stench of sweat and tension hung in the air as the camp waited silently and watchfully in the cold. My taut nerves made me certain that vengeful eyes were watching us from the cover of the surrounding vegetation. I twisted my head this way and that, looking for any signs of movement in the heavy darkness. I saw nothing. The only sounds were the heavy breathing of my comrades and the crunch of hard ground as they shuffled their feet.
At 4.30 a.m. the bark of the first gun rent the cold early morning air. It was still dark, and the flash shone brightly, momentarily dazzling us. Shells from the 7-pounders followed, soaring through the air and exploding around the target in brilliant flaming balls.
“The railway line’s been pulled up about half a mile from here.”
The news travelled along the lines of men, just as C Squadron prepared to charge forward.
“The armoured train isn’t coming.”
I watched C Squadron surge forward as a mass, each man focusing on his own steps, knowing that if he fell, he would be trampled by those coming afterwards.
This is it, I thought as my men readied themselves to follow. There is no flight option left. Now we must fight to win or be slaughtered like pigs.
I ran, legs pumping and bayonet held at the ready, to the discordant notes of the supporting artillery guns and the Maxim which intensified the din and swirled around me like an insane orchestra. I was conscious of the men of my squadron around me, as well as those of C Squadron about three hundred yards ahead of me.
A great surge of comradery surged through me as these men, my brotherhood, charged forward through the smoke, directly into a hail of bullets from the Boer musketry. Death seemed certain, but, at this precise moment, this did not matter to me; a cloud of red anger and lust for blood having descended over my mind.
The anger prevented fear and grew in its intensity as the occasional figure, including that of Captain Fitzclarence, dropped around me in small explosions of red.
C Squadron reached the fort, which was hidden by bushes, and the guns roared; the sound of the discordant orchestra growing and swelling. My men and I slowed our forward momentum as we watched more ghostly forms falling, to lie in ghastly bleeding piles on the ground.
The few men still standing started to fall back, shouting at my squadron to follow suit.
“The walls are too high … Impossible to mount without scaling ladders.”
Their shouts filled the air, mingling with the gunfire and moans, groans and cries of the wounded.
One of my men, William, and I picked up Captain Fitzclarence as we slowly and deliberately retraced our steps. The blood lust had faded from the men’s eyes and their moods had turned sullen. Expressions of dejection had settled on some faces.
The Boers stopped their fire as soon as the retreat commenced, and the resultant silence felt heavy on me, like a shroud. This behaviour by the Boers reinforced my belief that they are decent men. They could have picked a lot more of us off during this retreat if they’d kept shooting.
Moving backwards, lugging the heavy body, was immeasurably hard. My overtaxed leg and back muscles trembled, and my sweat slicked hands slipped and slid under the captain’s arms. I expelled a huge sigh of relief when William and I were finally able to lay our burden down at a designated spot near to the stranded armoured train. My legs refused to hold me up any longer and I sank to my knees.
That was when I noticed the blood. A bullet had grazed my chest and I hadn’t even noticed. Blood had stained my shirt and was running down into my trousers. It was strange how the moment I saw the blood immense pain seared the right hand side of my chest. It was like being slammed with a club.”
GIVEAWAYS: (4) e-book copies of A GHOST AND HIS GOLD
BOOK BLURB:
After Tom and Michelle Cleveland move into their recently built, modern townhouse, their housewarming party is disrupted when a drunken game with an Ouija board goes wrong and summons a sinister poltergeist, Estelle, who died in 1904.
Estelle makes her presence known in a series of terrifying events, culminating in her attacking Tom in his sleep with a knife. But, Estelle isn’t alone. Who are the shadows lurking in the background – one in an old-fashioned slouch hat and the other, a soldier, carrying a rifle?After discovering their house has been built on the site of one of the original farms in Irene, Michelle becomes convinced that the answer to her horrifying visions lie in the past. She must unravel the stories of the three phantoms’ lives, and the circumstances surrounding their untimely deaths during the Second Anglo Boer War, in order to understand how they are tied together and why they are trapped in the world of ghosts between life and death. As the reasons behind Estelle’s malevolent behaviour towards Tom unfold, Michelle’s marriage comes under severe pressure and both their lives are threatened.
AUTHOR BIO:
Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has short stories and poems in several anthologies and has 2 published novels, Through the Nethergate, a historical supernatural fantasy, and A Ghost and His Gold, a historical paranormal novel set in South Africa.
Roberta has 9 children’s books published under the name Robbie Cheadle.
Roberta was educated at the University of South Africa where she achieved a Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1996 and a Honours Bachelor of Accounting Science in 1997. She was admitted as a member of The South African Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2000.
Roberta has worked in corporate finance from 2001 until the present date and has written 7 publications relating to investing in Africa. She has won several awards over her 20-year career in the category of Transactional Support Services.
SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:
Robbie Cheadle
Website
https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Blog
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Website
https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
Blog
https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com
Goodreads
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19631306.Roberta_Eaton_Cheadle
https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites/?modal=admin_todo_tour
AMAZON OR OTHER PURCHASE LINKS:
TSL Publications:
Lulu.com:
A SHOUT OUT TO ALL WRITERS AND LITERARY LOVERS EVERYWHERE! IT’S TIME FOR THE CONFERENCE THAT MANY LOOK FORWARD TO! The VIRTUAL RRBC WRITERS’ CONFERENCE AND BOOK EXPO STARTS TODAY, AUGUST 9, 2021, AT 5 PM CENTRAL STANDARD TIME AND IS OPEN TO EVERYONE! COME VISIT AND TAKE PART! #BOOK,#EXPO, #WRITERS, #CONFERENCE, @RRBC_ORG
There are so many benefits to attending Writers’ conferences. They offer writers the opportunity to get to know and relate to others, and the RRBC’s 6th Annual Writers’ Conference & Book Expo, is no exception. Here you will meet new people, greet old friends, and get acquainted with the latest works by authors you know and love to read.
There will be games, prizes, surprises, and other goodies, so be sure to visit each Author Booth, take a look around, then leave a comment for your chance to win each Author Booth’s door prize!
There is a Scavenger Hunt Game to play, a 2 Truths & a Lie Game to play, and more! In each Author Booth, you will find a clue, and if you find the correct answer to all the clues and are the first to submit your answers, you could be the winner of an awesome prize!
Of course, we’ll have our READING ROOM open, and one of our members is going to blow you away showcasing their talent!
If you’re into BINGO, purchase your BINGO cards and join us for a game or two!
And what we all wait for every year – our RAFFLE! Yes, each year, we raffle off (7) $100 Amazon gift cards, and this is open to the public, so go on and snag your tickets today! Raffle tickets are only $5! How awesome would that prize be? Some of them also include additional goodies like other gift certificates, ebooks, and more! Enter for your chance to win one or more of these $100 Amazon gift card gift baskets. The more tickets you buy, the greater your chances of winning. (Please do not purchase more than 7 tickets).
This year for the first time ever, we’ve added our BEST BOOK COVER CONTEST! This contest is open to the general public, so go ahead and enter your book cover(s) now! Share your comments with us, and let us know which one you think is best!
Click for a full ITINERARY OF EVENTS!
Don’t forget the venue opens at 5 PM( CST) TODAY. We hope to see you there! In the event of minor time delays, please check the sidebar of the RRBC website for updates.
As they say in the Deep South, I’ll see y’all there!
Shalom aleichem
Pat Garcia
It’s Day 7 of the #RRBC Spotlight Author Blog Tour for #Author, Harriet Hodgson @healthmn1! C’mon by! @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA #RRBCSA #GriefDoodling
Hello Everyone,
One of the most inspiring persons I have met at the Rave Reviews Book Club (RRBC), the home for RRBC and RWISA Writers, is Harriet Hodgson. This spunky woman has written 42 books and is still writing. She truly embodies what RRBC is all about. Thus, it is a pleasure and an honor to have the woman I have titled Lady Harriet on my author’s website.
Welcome, Lady Harriet!
Harriet, having forty-two books circulating throughout the world, do you ever suffer from the dreaded disease authors know as writer’s block?
Harriet’s answer:
Writer’s block. Say these words to an author and they may wince. I’ve heard dozens of writer’s block stories. I’ve seen television movies about writer’s block. I have friends who talk about writer’s block constantly. Sorry as I am for these writers, I don’t understand them.
A writer’s job is to write and that’s what I do.
All writers, including me, have times when the words don’t come. My solution is to take a short break and figure out the problem. I’m a nonfiction writer. When I can’t find the words, it usually means more research is required. First, I search my bookshelf for resources that may help. Next, I surf the internet and look for articles that may help.
An hour later I’m back writing.
I’m so busy writing I don’t have time for writer’s block. My goal is to write each day. Whether it’s warm-ups with email messages, revising yesterday’s copy, or editing copy, I meet this goal unless I have medical or family appointments. Does the goal of daily writing work? You bet. This goal has led to 42 published books. Yesterday I started a new book and it’s shaping up well.
Harriet’s latest book is Grief Doodling.
Blurb:
From the very first page, Grief Doodling invites action. Topics range from the benefits of doodling, to why doodling is fun, to doodling tips, and responding to doodling prompts. The prompts, based on grief research, promote self-worth and healing. This is a hopeful book—something all grieving kids need.
Twitter handle: @healthMN1
Facebook URL: https://facebook.com/harriet.hodgson.7
Website address www.harriethodgson.com
For those of you that may not know Harriet, here is a Brief Bio of this awesome Lady.
Harriet Hodgson, BS, MA has been a freelance writer for 42+ years, is the author of thousands of print/online articles and 42 books. She is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists, Alliance of Independent Authors, and Minnesota Coalition for Death Education and Support.
Harriet is Assistant Editor of the Open to Hope website. She is a contributing writer for www.opentohope.com, The Grief Toolbox, and “Grief Digest,” now an online magazine.
A popular speaker, Harriet has given presentations at The Compassionate Friends national conference, Bereaved Parents of the USA national conference, public health, Alzheimer’s, and caregiving conferences. She has appeared on more than 185 radio shows, including CBS Radio, and dozens of television stations, including CNN.This award-winning author loves writing so much she writes in her sleep. GriefDoodling: Bringing Back Your Smiles, written and illustrated by Harriet, is her latest book.
Thank you for dropping by to support Harriet along her tour. To follow along with the rest of her 7-day tour, please visit the 
“SPOTLIGHT” Author forum on the RRBC site and don’t forget to pick up a copy of her book above! Lastly, we ask that you LIKE and SHARE this post, as well as the “SPOTLIGHT” Author page, to your social media, to enhance Harriet’s support!
RRBC “SPOTLIGHT” Author Banner
Have a nice day!
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
Welcome to Day 4 of #RRBC’S ’20 WC&BE SPONSORS BLOG TOUR! @RRBC_Org @sharrislaughter
Author, Shirley Harris Slaughter is a guest on my blog today. She is one of many authors who made the ’20 Writers Conference & Book Expo a huge success in 2020. Thanks, Shirley, for your contribution! Below are some interesting tidbits about Shirley.
Book Blurb:
Crazy! Hot! And Living On The Edge!! Kindle Edition
by Shirley Harris-Slaughter (Author)
Imagine experiencing emotions that have you questioning your sanity. Your body gets overheated at the least bit of excitement and you scramble to find a fan or some air. Or you find yourself in the throes of a panic attack and can’t understand how to shut it off, so you are filled with anxiety wondering when the next one is coming. What if every time you take a drug you experience side-affects that you are warned about on the label?
The title was conceived in my mind after I thought over all the situations, I had found myself in, how I got out of them, and the affect all of this had on my overall physical and mental well-being.
Crazy! Hot! And Living On The Edge!! Is the True Story of My Upside Down Life!
Author Bio:
Shirley Harris-Slaughter is the author of Our Lady of Victory, the Saga of an African-American Catholic Community which was written to address a need to preserve Catholic history in her local community. She mentored four freshman girls at the local middle school. She is active in her church and https://ravereviewsbookclub.wordpress.com/virtual book club community where she has added another biography and fiction to her repertoire. She is married to Langston and is a Michigan Native.
A BIT MORE ABOUT ME:
During my graduate studies I prepared an Applied Research Project to address the deplorable condition of our train station, in downtown Detroit, MI. It was certified and accepted by the faculty of Cleary University in August 1993. I was able to galvanize the entire community around this issue which was videotaped and featured on broadcast news. I utilized college interns and the city of Detroit to find some answers in order to provide a template for saving this historic station. Here is the Title…
“THE IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH TO RESTORING THE MICHIGAN CENTRAL DEPOT”
Caged Birds Don’t Sing
Kathie Mae sat and stared at her surroundings; everything was in place just like he liked it.
The cream coloured sofa just at the right angle, three meters away but right in front of the large floor to ceiling window that faced the street before their house. The window sparkled. The brightness from the sun shining heftily through it. The mahogany wood piano, opened, displaying its ivory black and white keys, and a portrait of her hanging over it, singing.
Kathie Mae looked at the portrait and examined the eyes of the woman she no longer knew. Yes, the eyes in the picture were brighter, livelier, and mischievous filled with hope and the desire to conquer the world. Where had all that gone?
The clock ticked away the minutes; her heartbeat quickened with every passing minute.
Soon he would be home. In an hour or two, Kathie Mae would have to stop her wandering mind from going back to the past.
Whoever thought that having everything that money could buy meant fulfilment had to be gravely disturbed she thought and heard Louisa knock softly on the living room door.
“Come in, Louisa.”
“I don’t mean to disturb you, but I’ll be leaving soon. Is there anything else you want me to do?”
“No,” Kathie Mae said and gave her a hollow smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “What are you going to do this weekend, Louisa?”
“I’m going to do what I do here every day,” Louisa said. “I’m going to clean my house.”
Kathie Mae chuckled. She’d talked to Cesare about reducing Louisa’s days to three times a week, but he’d insisted that she had to come every day except Sunday. When he returned home, he wanted to see an orderly, well-kept house without any clutter. That when she’d begun to notice that well-kept meant everything including her.
“Well, take some time to enjoy your Sunday, Louisa. Everybody needs rest.”
“I will. If I had a husband like yours, I’d be in Heaven,” Louisa said. “It would be so nice to wake up and not have to do anything.”
Kathie Mae shuddered at Louisa’s words. The woman didn’t know what she was asking for.
Would she really like living in a cage? The changes Kathie Mae had had to undergo bombarded her mind.
Black men love long hair, white men love afros, but what about what women like. Were there no women in the world outside of the Stepford Wives?
Cesare had told her to get rid of her coils. Why were they so distasteful and unruly for him? Afro, he’d shouted, Afro! An Afro was what Cesare expected her to wear. Little by little, he’d whittled away at her until she’d become the pretty hull that he wanted her to be.
Soon, she didn’t recognise who she was. When she looked into her mirror, she saw Cesare’s creation. The one he wanted to come home too. She’d managed to save only a tiny small piece of who she was hidden deep inside her and would visit whenever she could.
“Are you alright, Ms. Kathie Mae?” Louisa asked, frowning.
She had drifted so deep into the small piece of herself that she’d forgotten that Louisa was standing before her.
“Yes…Louisa. I’m sorry…No need to tell Mr. Domenico…about this. I…was just thinking about what you said,” Kathie Mae said.
“Okay, I won’t mention it this time, but I don’t want you to slip away like that. You scared me. Mr. Domenico said it’s dangerous when you slip away.”
“I’m alright, Louisa. I didn’t slip away. I was just thinking about what you said, ”Kathie Mae repeated even though she didn’t remember what Louisa had said.
“Good, then I would like to leave early if it is alright with you,” Louisa said.
“Sure, why don’t you do that,” Kathie Mae said, “I’m waiting on Cesare to come home just as he wants me too.”
“When are you going to sing again?” Louisa asked.
“Sing? Oh yes…I did sing once, didn’t I.”
“Why don’t you know, Ms. Kathie Mae?” Louisa asked. “You sing so beautifully, with heart and soul.”
“One day…Louisa…one day, I’ll tell you all about it,” Kathie Mae said. “Now go home.”
Kathie Mae heard the front door close and listened as Louisa turned the key in the lock.
She walked to the living room window and stood so Louisa could see that she was in the house. A fake smile on her face, Kathie Mae waved at Louisa. “
“Caged birds don’t sing, Louisa. They dress as puppets without souls,” Kathie Mae murmured while waving to Louisa.
Kathie Mae went back to the sofa to sit before the window, so Cesare could see her when he came and looked at the window from the sidewalk. He would wave. She would wave back. He would walk up the steps and open the door to the cage and say ‘darling ‘before he locked the cage for the weekend.
Welcome to Day 4 of the 2021 RWISA “REVOLUTION” Blog Tour! @WendyJayneScott @RRBC_Org @RRBC_RWISA @Tweets4RWISA #RRBC #RWISA
Welcome to Day 4 of the RWISA “REVOLUTION” Blog Tour! We’d like to introduce you to an amazingly supportive RWISA member, Author, Wendy Jayne Scott, who is also RWISA President. Take a peek at her writing below…
HAPPY DANCE
In March 2020, with only a few days warning, alongside the rest of New Zealand, I was plunged into total lockdown. Saying this was a surreal experience is an understatement. As none of us knew how long this altered state would last, what this meant for our jobs, or the financial or health repercussions. We’d become entangled into the twilight zone of Covid-19. UNPRECEDENTED, screamed from the headlines alongside worldwide body counts and estimated infection rates. No compass existed to guide us out of the pandemic fog shrouding our futures. We were confined to our specified people bubbles.
Teddy Bears sprouted up window ledges and letter boxes, a sign of hope and solidarity, signalling to passers-by that even though 2 meter distances and masks now ruled our physical world, we were together in our hearts. I remember gathering, with my son, at the end of our driveway, in the predawn, to pay homage to our fallen ANZAC soldiers. Dawn parades were cancelled for the first time in 104 years. The haunting bugle tone of ‘The Last Post’ filtered from an unseen neighbour’s gateway and shivers resonated along my spine.https://www.youtube.com/embed/f7V07V1rjbM?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent
During lockdown, I had a choice of how I would respond to my altered reality. Black voids of despair, conspiracy theories, and fake news plied for my sanity. Yet, sunlight glistened on the tall summer grasses in my yard, my son’s laughter trickled on the breeze, and my dogs’ tails wagged like helicopter rotors, ecstatic to have their human pals home 24/7. So, I chose to focus on becoming a healthier and happier version of me, and a positive role-model for my son.
Fast forward to February 2021, New Zealand is no longer in lockdown, but our borders are heavily restricted, and the new media buzz words are QUARANTINE and VACCINE. Uncertainty looms like a bloated storm cloud. Fears of further job losses and financial ruin taint our summer days. Staying positive is harder to maintain under this sustained assault of negative news.
Changes are happening. Although, I fight against the dismantling of my comfortable world, my will alone doesn’t curb the tidal jetsam from Covid-19, so I must adapt to this foreign landscape.
Since lockdown, I’ve embraced personal development, focusing inward, aware that I may not be in a position to influence external circumstances, but I can take responsibility for myself. Being positive is easy when life is rosy, yet it is how I react when life is battering away at my defences that define me as a person.
Here are my top tips for positivity:
- Express your gratitude every day for what you do have
- Show and tell your loved ones how much you care for them and hug them (if you can)
- Use your creativity!!!! Keep feeding your creative addictions
- Resonate with nature by strolling on the beach, sniff garden flowers, or listen to birdsong
- Smile more, at everyone, this is the right kind of contagious! If a mask hides your mouth, then smile through your eyes!
- Be kind, laugh, and dance – play music that lifts your spirit
So, smile, and join me in singing and dancing into the light.https://www.youtube.com/embed/MOWDb2TBYDg?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en&autohide=2&wmode=transparent
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Did you enjoy Wendy’s writing? Then please, help us support her and her work along this REVOLUTION tour! We ask that you click on the author’s RWISA Profile below and visit all of her profile pages – some offering more insight into the member and others showcasing the author’s talent.
Lastly, we ask that you support this member as well as the host of this blog, by sharing this page and the author’s profile pages across all your social media platforms.
RWISA Profile
What Wendy has to say about RWISA…
Check out Wendy’s book…
“FEEDERS”
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Now, we’d like to give you a chance at some of this awesome promotion for yourself!
Have you written that book or short story you want the whole world to know about? Are you looking for a great way to promote your creative endeavors? Perhaps you’re seeking to add some prestige to your body of work! If this sounds like you, we invite you to come on over to RAVE WRITERS – INT’L SOCIETY OF AUTHORS, otherwise known as RWISA.
At RWISA, we invite and accept into membership only the very best writers the Indie community has to offer.
If your work is exemplary and speaks for itself, stop by the RWISA website today at RaveWriters.wordpress.com and find out how you can submit your sample of writing for consideration.
We’re an exclusive bunch but we’d love to have you join us!
NOTE: If you’re looking to improve your writing while taking another route to membership into RWISA, while you’re at the site, visit RWISA UNIVERSITY!
Thanks for dropping by and don’t forget to leave the author a comment below! To follow along with the rest of the tour, please visit the tour’s home page!
Meet Author JQ Rose On Her Arranging A Dream Book Tour!
I first met JQ in the Insecure Writers Support Group created by Alex J Cavanaugh. What struck me was her ability to make her characters come off the page and talk with you. She writes Fiction and Non-Fiction.
JQ is a wordsmith, and I am delighted to have her on my author blog. We, writers, know how lonely a writer’s job can be. So, I have asked JQ to talk about the characteristics or traits of writers who succeed.
Thank you so much for hosting me today, Pat. I love your suggestion of sharing what I believe are the characteristics needed to be a writer. I am not saying I have every one of these qualities because I am a work-in-progress myself. But exploring and naming the features certainly made me think.
Readers, you are invited to add to the list of characteristics.
Two lucky commenters will be drawn to win a PDF copy of Arranging a Dream for one and the other will win an e-copy of Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing loaded with helpful tips on writing, publishing and marketing.
The Characteristics of a Writer
I listed the characteristics in no order of importance.
Devotion A writer must love what she is doing. If not, the book or essay will never get written because we all know the first draft is junk. If a writer is not devoted, she will tear up the pages and give up. Rejections will knock her off her feet, and she will never try again. But when devoted to creating her piece, her belief and determination will be challenged, but she will keep writing.
Organization As a writer, we wear many hats. Indie authors must keep track of writing, editing, formatting, publishing, marketing, and business decisions. Traditional or indie authors must organize their research for a story, save the manuscript files to choose the correct one for editing, keep track of promotions, posts for a blog, email and social media.
Imagination Remember when you were a kid, and you would act out stories with your friends or make up poems for your mom? Fiction writers never lose that creativity. Non-fiction writers need imagination too to send the clear message of the book or essay to readers in an interesting and new way.
Intelligence Although no one wants to admit it, I am telling you only smart people can write! I know it sounds like bragging, but it is the truth.
Discipline If a writer cannot set aside a time when penning a project and keep that appointment, the writing will never be finished. Making time in your schedule for creating a project and sitting down to do it will develop the habit of writing.
Wordsmith Writers need to know a variety of words to clearly describe places, characters, and emotions. Reading enlarges your vocabulary. Become a wordsmith using Thesaurus.com. The Emotion Thesaurus series by Becca Puglisi and Angela Ackerman are valuable aids for writers. Sense of Humor Mark Twain and Janet Evanovich are masters when it comes to including humor in their stories. Even a horror story or murder mystery can use a light touch within the pages.
Thank you, JQ for taking the time to share your thoughts on the characteristics of good writers. JQ Rose’s Memoir is out.
Blurb:
In 1975, budding entrepreneurs Ted and Janet purchase a floral shop and greenhouses where they plan to grow their dream. Leaving friends and family behind in Illinois and losing the security of two paychecks, they transplant themselves, their one-year-old daughter, and all their belongings to Fremont, Michigan, where they know no one.
Will the retiring business owners nurture Ted and Janet as they struggle to develop a blooming business, or will they desert the inexperienced young couple to wither and die in their new environment?
Most of all, can Ted and Janet grow together as they cultivate a loving marriage, juggle parenting with work, and root a thriving business?
Follow this couple’s inspiring story, filled with the joy and triumphs and the obstacles and failures experienced as they travel along the turbulent path of turning dreams into reality.
BUY LINKS:
Order from your favorite digital bookseller:
UNIVERSAL LINK https://books2read.com/Arranging-A-Dream
Paperback at amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Arranging-Dream-J-Q-Rose/dp/0228615542/
I have purchased my copy already and look forward to reading it. If you would like to know more about JQ or contact her, here is a short bio and her contact links.
Bio: Whether the story is fiction or non-fiction, J.Q. Rose is “focused on story.” She offers readers chills, giggles and quirky characters woven within the pages of her romantic suspense novels. Her published mysteries are Deadly Undertaking, Terror on Sunshine Boulevard and Dangerous Sanctuary released by Books We Love Publishing. Using her storytelling skills, she provides entertainment and information with articles featured in books, magazines, newspapers, and online magazines.
Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games and travel are the things that keep JQ out of trouble. She and her husband spend winters in Florida and summers up north with their two daughters, two sons-in-law, four grandsons, one granddaughter, two grand dogs, four grand cats, and one great-grand bearded dragon.
CONNECT ONLINE WITH J.Q. ROSE
J.Q. Rose blog http://www.jqrose.com/
Facebook http://facebook.com/jqroseauthor
Telling Your Life Story and Memoirs Circle FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/telllifestories
The Rose Courier Newsletter Sign-Up https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/m7v2z3
Please leave a comment below to enter the drawing for Arranging a Dream: A Memoir or Romance and Mystery Authors on Writing. Deadline to enter is 9:00 pm ET, February 11.
Thank you for dropping by.
Shalom aleichem,
REMEMBERING THANKSGIVING, A POEM BY Pat Garcia
It’s not about turkey, yams, or stuffing,
But the pleasure of gathering to share a meal.
It’s not about money, expensive toys, or outrageous shopping,
But the realization that grace has been extended to see another year almost past and go.
It’s not about closing our doors to visitors and hugging everything for self,
But opening the heart as we reach out to the unfortunate in some unique way.
Thanksgiving,
An opportunity to show gratitude,
Instead of just talking about it.
Thanksgiving,
Becoming conscious of the reality that there is Someone more significant than you and me,
Who knows more than we could ever fathom to understand,
And whose love for us is boundless.
Thanksgiving,
A day set aside to give special thanks to God.
Happy Thanksgiving, Everyone!
Be blessed.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat Garcia
